October 31, 2008

Ok - apparently a ton of celebrities are threatening to leave if their chosen candidate doesn't win. Oh, well boo hoo. GO then! Everyone, celebrity or not, threatening that if their guy doesn't win (and there are plenty on both sides)... I DARE YOU TO GO! There may be things that are wrong here, and maybe you think the other guy will make it worse. But I imagine, based on the number of people that want IN every year, our country is still a pretty darn nice place to be. So - GO if your guy doesn't win, I would love to see that happen (esp. to Seal and Susan Sarandon - don't let the door hit you in the rear!)

I bought these last week. I LOVE instant mashed potatoes so I was so excited to try them. I sub chicken broth for the water and they are usually SO YUMMY! The store didn't have my usual brand so I bought these.

When I got home, I see the ingredients call for water, milk and butter instead of just water. Hmm... I made them with milk, broth and butter. They were runny and gross.

Well, in the mail today I got a free sample...of THE SAME THING. Only this sample ONLY takes water (the name of the product is EXACTLY the same) but the box has a label that says "Now Better Tasting". So they thought the old one needed improvement too?

Anyway - I'll report back with the new improved product review soon - I hope it's good, I love some good instant potatoes!

October 29, 2008

The first couple - an older gentleman and his bride. The groom kept appearing on camera NAKED and they had to blur him. Then they were in the hot tub WAY naked. He did NOT HAVE any teeth. They were having a wedding featuring a tractor contest - where she got on one and he got on the other - then they sort of had a tug of war between them. Then the gifts - he got her a chrome exhaust pipe for her tractor? She had a bull killed for it's skull (they showed her at the farm picking out the live bull to be killed) then had it painted w/his POW/MIA logo. He built the wedding pavilion for her HIMSELF.

Wow. And the potato salad made many guests sick.

The second couple - OH MY GOODNESS. She was 16 when his parents ADOPTED HER. SO SHE WAS HIS SISTER. But they figured it was ok, because she wasn't a blood sister, but it was so disturbing. Then the mother of the bride/mother of the groom had the birth control talk w/the daughter. She told her that if they were out of condoms, a ziploc bag and a ribbon worked equally as well. WHAT??!!

For the wedding - she wore a dress trimmed in a red corset - which her mother/his mother hated. After, she changed into regular jeans /t shirt. They had tossing of the bouquet to the women IN A MUD PIT. They actually made a cute couple, except for the whole brother/sister thing.

While both of these weddings were SO REDNECK, they actually were very sweet. The look on the couple's faces (1st episode) when declared husband and wife said it all. And was perfect, until he pulled out his teeth to kiss her and grabbed her ass. The second couple was actually just as charming, if not a bit young to be getting married. Oh, and RELATED to each other.

October 27, 2008

I put our info in - we ARE NOT wealthy and I have to work part-time (full time would be better but we can't get childcare for the hours we need).

Under Obama's Plan, I will not get ANY tax cut. NONE. Which means, I'm fairly certain, it is MY "WEALTH" that will be re-distributed to people who do not deserve the money THAT I EARN. I take care of my children and my family (including my mother when she needs it). I do not need anyone else jumping on my wagon for me to pull. Get up, go to work. If that job doesn't bring in enough money, GET ANOTHER ONE OR GET A BETTER ONE. When my Dad's job didn't bring in enough to make ends meet, HE GOT A SECOND JOB. I do not leave my children in my mother's care 3 days a week so that I can support ANY ONE that is not in my family. I provide insurance, food, etc. for the people that I am responsible for. If I am not responsible for you, I don't want to finance your life.

October 26, 2008

We started at a birthday party from 12-2 at a park. It was a great day for that. The mom that setup the party did a great job - she had grapes, goldfish, potato chips and sandwiches - including sandwiches without lettuce/tomato/etc. on it for the kids! Ham and cheese only! Also she had a moon bounce and pumpkin painting! My ONLY complaint is that the only drinks for adults were beer and wine - no Diet Coke and no water! So I HAD to have 2 beers in the middle of the day. :-)

Then off to Hagarstown, MD to a party hosted by Blondy for the kids. They had a ball - she has a son that is the same age as my son so they had a great time running around!

The only problem is that is 77 miles from my house! So we had a long long long drive home! I am beat- keeping busy DOES help the time fly by but OMG am I tired now!!

October 22, 2008

"The Countdown to Christmas Challenge for today is to begin to research ways for your family to give this season. Take a look around for something meaningful to you. Remember that if you don't offer some help, who will? This will be a difficult Christmas for many people this year. You don't have to give money to contribute. Look for ways you can donate your time and energy as well."

October 20, 2008

I was discussing unborn babies with a young person the other day (who does not have children yet) and they thought the human/baby heart started beating at about 8 months old. And that they weren't really considered a person until they were born. Also that they did not feel pain.

The fetus heart begins beating around the 5th week of gestation and is usually VISIBLY beating on a standard ultrasound at 6 weeks of gestation. 5 WEEKS. You can see the blood moving on the screen. We were not discussing the issue of abortion, but this person seemed to think (based on his guesses about how babies develop) that they didn't feel and didn't have heartbeats and bodily systems running until much closer to their birth date (his thoughts actually were that it was ok for women to drink because he thought the alcohol didn't affect the baby because it wasn't alive until about 8 months).

The date the woman should have gotten her period marks 4 weeks of gestation, so if she is 1 week late for her period, the baby is at 5 weeks of gestation already and it's heart is developing and almost ready to start beating. If she is 2 weeks late, the heart is already beating steadily along.

The second trimester runs from about week 13 to week 26. It is the third trimester after week 26. Women can generally feel the baby kicking and moving around week 18-20. After week 20, movement can generally be seen and felt from outside the woman's body by others.

The earliest viability for a fetus outside the womb is currently 23-24 weeks depending on the hospital and the baby. Any baby born that early, however, will face a long and scary NICU stay and probably several health issues for the first several months of life, but there are many examples of babies born at early gestational ages that are quite happy and healthy. It is not an easy road for the parents or the children, but it is a road that can be taken, thanks to advanced medicine.

Any way, it was brought to my attention that some people (so far I'm finding it's younger people that haven't even begun to enter the 'wanting kids' stage of life. I was this way once! A long time ago!) were unaware of some of the finer points of human development at these early stages and I did not want anyone going on believing when the fetuses began to move, have heartbeats, be affected by alcohol/drugs the mother was ingesting, etc.

October 15, 2008

Do you guys remember Motherhood Uncensored's "Blog The Recession" during August? Well I won a prize!

Amelia, at http://ameliasprout.blogspot.com, sent me the most beautiful handmade blanket I have ever seen! The wave pattern is amazing - I tried to capture it in the photograph. I've put up 3 pictures, with a close up of the stitching for you to see! She does amazing work! I asked if she had an Etsy store I could link to but she does not yet. I think she should open one! The blanket is amazing. I love the wave pattern and can't believe that someone could knit something like that! It's the perfect size for my little ones to cuddle with or cover up with while sitting on the couch. I love it and it is easily one of the nicest gifts I have ever been given. Thank you so much, Amelia!

Another blogger, I don't remember who or I would link, talked about Facebook - how joining it has helped her find all the people from her past - and how most of them did the same sort of thing since high school --> marriage, jobs, kids, etc. But there are always one or two that DID not settle down. I have an acquaintance like this. She most certainly has not settled down. And at 35, she appears to have the most glamorous life. As I am here, wiping milk out of BabyJ's watermelon (why does she always dump her milk into her food), trying to get ToddlerT to eat, and squeeze in some work while they are strapped in their seats, she has upload pics of her most recent weekend away (which appears to be every weekend) in Miami. Clubbing, fancy dinners, nice beautiful clothes, posh hotels. Champagne out of beautiful crystal. Sigh. There most certainly are many different roads to travel, eh?

October 12, 2008

Today's activity is to start planning your Advent Calendar! It must be done and ready by Nov 30!

YIKES! That is a lot to do by then! Usually we just did a Hershey kiss in each door, but I'm thinking I need to be more creative both for their minds and their teeth. I was thinking of something more fun too - any ideas out there??

October 11, 2008

I unsubscribed from your feed today. Usually you are quite funny. You take awesome photographs. You are a tech guy, so I love reading your tech commentary too.

But lately you are so bitter about McCain even having the NERVE to run against the God-like man you endorse ( the nerve of someone, running AGAINST Obama! How can one not see Obama is the only choice! You are ignorant if you do not see how great Obama is) you just sound angry, bitter and old. I do like hearing the opposing side - but from people that can keep an even temper. Don't get me wrong, I like passion! I want to read how people are passionate that their candidate is the best one! That is awesome - ususally we have a hard time finding anyone that even cares about the candidates. There are quite a few Obama-endorsing blogs that I continue to follow, because while they also endorse Obama they do not....

1. Treat him like a God2. Talk to Republicans (and by the way, not all Republicans are McCain fans or Palin fans, which I'm sure will SHOCK you)3. Talk to your non-Obama endorsers like we are all morons for not seeing the light 4. Spew hate

I do not have time in my day for hate-spewers. Miss Britt, Zoot, Enjablog -- > they are all Obama endorsers and have many political posts, but none of them talk to people that oppose their view like they are freaking morons.

October 08, 2008

HEY! This is post #1001! How did I miss #1,000? Well, I'm home alone w/3 kids for 60 days, that's how! I miss a lot these days.

Today, in bullets....

5:01 a.m. Alarm goes off. I hit snooze.5:10 a.m. Alarm goes off. I hit snooze.5:19 a.m. Alarm goes off. I hit snooze.5:28 Alarm goes off. I hit snooze.5:37 Alarm goes off. I hit snooze.5:46 Alarm goes off. I hit snooze.5:55 Alarm goes - I get up, noting that I cannot blow dry my hair as I've gotten up so late. So the "hair in a bun" look it is for me today. Too bad the award ceremony w/the executives is today. Sigh.6:01 Get out of shower. Son comes into room. I tell him to lay in my bed and watch tv until I'm ready to throw him in shower.6:15 he gets in shower6:3o he is out of shower6:40 he is still naked as he's watching "The Secret Show" and forgot to get dressed.6:42 he's downstairs to start eating.7:00 he's brushing teeth7:10 out the door7:11 BOTH other children wake up after I have the outrageous thought that I get more than 30 seconds of kid-free time in the morning.7:20 ponder showering 2 little ones before I realize that is DUMB to think I can shower them and get me ready for work by 8 (which is when mom is due to arrive to watch them so I can goto work)8:00 mom arrives8:15 I leave8:40 I arrive at work10:00 I con call on a dumb meeting where we agree to do something that makes perfect sense, why we couldn't agree on that WITHOUT A MEETING is beyond me.11:00 goto Qdoba for my 1 meal of the day12:00 return to work1:00 awards ceremony. THEY HAVE COVERED THE GLORIOUS CAKE WITH FRUIT! DAMN THEM! I BET THERE'S FRUIT IN THE MIDDLE. DAMN! THEY HAVE TOTALLY RUINED A GOOD CAKE.1:30 work on stuff 2:30 leave2:50 arrive home, change, put Jess in car.3:30 arrive at pediatrician office. Hear how GREAT she's doing (DUH!). She gets THREE shots and does not cry at all. Male nurse is quite impressed.4 p.m. arrive home -start giving Son his spelling test. Get interuppted for several cups of milk, taking babyT potty, getting more milk and water cups, changing channel on tivo, finding toys, etc.5:30 throw chicken nuggets into oven.6:00 get everyone started on dinner6:30 leave for cubscouts6:45 - 7:45 cub scout meeting. OMG they are adorable in their uniforms!7:50 arrive home8:10 everyone in bed. Now I get to clean up from dinner and the day the kids had here. Make lunch for son for tomorrow. Pack bag for kids to goto mom's tomorrow.